Nuremberg, July 27, 2017 – On average, a quarter of people entertain guests in their home either daily or weekly, and a further third entertain monthly. Less than one in ten people say that they never entertain guests in their home. These insights are from an online survey across 17 countries conducted by global researchers, GfK, with the definition of ‘entertain guests’ left open, so it covers everything from dinner parties to having friends around to watch a film or sports or simply to chat over a coffee.

Mexicans and Argentinians are the most frequent hosts out of all 17 countries surveyed, with 42 percent and 39 percent respectively entertaining guests at home either daily or weekly. They are followed by Brazilians at 36 percent, Italians at 34 percent and Chinese at 30 percent.

In contrast, Koreans and Japanese are least likely to entertain guests in their home, with over a quarter (28 percent and 27 percent respectively) saying they never do this. They are followed by the Dutch, at 19 percent.

Internationally, gender makes next to no difference in how often people entertain guests at home. One in three (34 percent) of both genders entertain at least once a month at home. However, added to that, men are very slightly more likely than women to entertain daily or weekly, while women creep ahead of men for entertaining less often than once a month.

Households with young children and people in their twenties are the most frequent hosts.

People living in households where there are no children aged under 20 living at home are less frequent hosts than those with children. In the no-children households, only 19 percent welcome guests on a daily or weekly basis. This climbs to 28 percent of those with teenage children (13 to 19 years old) in the household, 32 percent of those with children aged between six and twelve, and peaks at 37 percent of those with children under six.

Looking at the data by age group, the frequency of entertaining guests at home tends to decrease with age. A third (34 percent) of those in their twenties say they entertain guests either daily or weekly, falling to 30 percent of those in their thirties, 18 percent of those in their forties, 15 percent of those in their fifties and 12 percent of those aged 60 and over.

By combining these survey insights with purchase data from consumer panels and point of sales tracking, plus market knowledge of cultural influences, GfK helps manufacturers, supermarkets and retailers to identify high-potential audiences and opportunities, both globally and at country-specific level – covering areas such as FMCG, groceries, beverages, domestic appliances, home entertainment or technical consumer goods.

Frequency of entertaining guests at home: international average

Frequency of entertaining guests at home: 17-country comparison

Entertaining guests at home: top 5 countries by frequency band

About the study

GfK asked over 22,000 consumers (aged 15 or over) online in 17 countries how often they entertain guests in their home, selecting from: Every day or most days; At least once a week; At least once a month; Less often; Never.

Fieldwork was completed in summer 2016. Data are weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the online population aged 15+ in each market. The global average given in this release is weighted, based on the size of each country proportional to the other countries.

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